Maya Nova is a soulful jazz vocalist with 25 years of performing experience and 10 years of teaching experience over 3 continents: Europe, Asia and America.
Education:
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Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) Degree from Stony Brook University, NY, USA (2019)
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Master Degree (MA) from The Jazz Vocal Performance Program at Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College, NY, USA (2014)
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BA Degree from Pop and Jazz Department of National Music Academy, Sofia, Bulgaria (1996 )
Disciplines and instructors: Voice and Performance - JD Walter, Charenne Wade, Dee Daniels; Jazz Harmony - David Berkman;
Jazz Arranging - Michael Mossman; Improvisation - Antonio Hart and David Berkman; Piano - Jeb Patton; Jazz History - Howard Brofsky
From 2008 until 2012, Nova was an adjunct main study voice lecturer at Contemporary Music Performance Department of LaSalle College of the Arts, Singapore and also taught voice lessons at United World College, German International School, Saint Joseph Institution International, Singapore.
She is currently living in NYC and available for private lessons and group classes / workshops.
Please write to: for bookings or more information about voice lessons.
Private voice lessons are also available via Skype: jazzymaya
Information for students:
Beginners / Intermediate
Vocal Technique:
posture, breathing, resonance, articulation, and vocal health
- Breath Support / Management - The Quiet Breath (Bel Canto technique)
- Resonance / Placement for Jazz or Pop Vocal (The Speaking Voice)
- Vocal Registers - Connecting the vocal registers - One Voice from top to bottom
- Extending the Range
- Keeping low larynx and an open throat
- Articulation - Vowels - Forming the vowels in American English
- Phrasing for jazz and pop music styles
- Using different tone colors for jazz or pop music (Intermediate *)
- Vocal Health - (***the topic addresses all mentioned above) : breath-management needs through posture and breath exercises, using mostly a volume between mp and mf when either speaking or singing jazz/pop music, working to release upper-torso tension, resting the voice when vocally tired, keeping the voice box/ larynx from bobbing up and down, protecting the speaking voice by not speaking over noise or speaking at too low of a pitch, and maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Jazz Repertoire:
- Learn popular jazz standards - The Great American Songbook
- Song form and choosing the right key
- Storytelling / Learning the lyrics
- Knowing how to listening to the jazz greats and finding different versions of a tune
- Melody and Harmony
- The Blues
- Rhythm Exercises for swing feel /The triplet in 8 notes, quarter notes, half notes.
- Making the lyrics swing!
- Phrasing and para-phrasing (second choruses with lyrics), backward or forward phrasing over the bar
- Writing your own charts
Pop Repertoire:
- Choosing the songs - (*usually by the students choice)
- Song form and choosing the right key
- Storytelling / Learning the lyrics
- Style - tone color, riffs and embellishments
- How to listening to different vocalists and learn from them
- Melody and harmony - pentatonic and blues scale (for advanced students)
- Songwriting and arranging (for advanced students)
Advanced
Vocal Improvisation - Scat
- Rhythm - The triplet (in 8 notes, quarter notes, half notes, 16 notes) practicing with metronome.
- Knowing the melody - (really knowing the melody)!
- The Harmonic language of a tune:
roots (* the other important melody); outlining chord changes - arrpegiating the chords; basic patterns over the chord changes: 1231, 1235, 1345, etc.; scales corresponding to the chords; creating guide lines; the 2-5-1 harmonic structure; Blues Form; Rhythm Changes
- Playing basic piano- play melody and roots; vocings and shapes for the chords; 2-5 -1 piano exercises, Blues, Rhythm Changes
- Scales – choosing the corresponding scale over the chord changes
- Transcriptions and their importance in hearing the language.
Working with children aged 5 to 12
- Posture and breathing for singing
- Introducing basic warm up scales
- Learning to sing the vowels
- Working on popular children’s songs from Musicals & Disney movies
- Basic ear-training and music theory
- Beginners piano and classical guitar